Ahead of the month of Ramadan and in the shadow of the fear of a security escalation due to incitement by terrorist organizations, the Israeli security establishment is expected to prevent the entry of Jews to the Temple Mount, according to a report by Israel's Public Broadcasting news channel, “Kann”.
According to the report, a discussion over the need to limit the entry of Jews to the mountain during the last ten days of Ramadan became stormy. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who himself is a frequent visitor to what is the holiest site in Judaism, was present and stated that he was openly opposed to any restrictions. According to the report of the hearing, Ben Gvir brought up that the previous government of Naftali Bennett closed the Temple Mount for only nine days, whereas now, in the right-wing government, the security establishment wants to limit the entry of Jews to the Temple Mount for ten days.
The government is set to restrict or even block entrance to Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount during the end of Ramadan, according to KAN. If this happens it is yet another failure by Ben-Gvir to achieve his central campaign promises. https://t.co/BsGzOZai1m
— Tzvi Joffre (@TzviJoffre) February 19, 2023
"I don't think the Temple Mount should be closed at all to the entry of Jews," Ben Gvir said in the discussion. However, a political official was quoted in the report as saying that freedom of worship must be balanced with the Muslim requirement to spend the night on the Temple Mount and that it was agreed that the issue would be discussed again later.
It should be noted that throughout the last few years, the ascension of Jews to the Temple Mount has been limited or prohibited in one way or another during the month of Ramadan, a restriction that has received criticism over the years from the current ministers in the government, specifically Bezalel Smotrich, and Itamar Ben Gvir.
10 days!
— Emet News Service 🇮🇱 #JusticeForMalkiRoth (@EmetNews) February 19, 2023
Report: Temple Mount to be closed to #Jews at end of #Ramadan, despite #Ben_Gvir's objections: https://t.co/vwr0PXdClt pic.twitter.com/tRVg4Cry7C
Zvi Yehezkali, a senior Israeli security analyst, recently spoke of the dangers that come with the upcoming Ramadan. "Israel, in the way it handles the issue, allows terrorism to raise its head, therefore it does not need a reason. I think that this Ramadan will be fueled by a lot of incitement and anyone who wants to escalate this Ramadan will take advantage of the opportunity. It is not for nothing that the Minister of Internal Security says we are heading into another Intifada.”
“The previous Ramadan 19 Israelis were killed in Muslim attacks, there is already enthusiasm for Ramadan. In general, all of Ramadan in recent years has been branded by Hamas as the month of jihad against Israel. I'm not one of those who look for cause and effect, I don't care that because the IDF entered Jenin there will be an escalation, an escalation is always there, a result of an opportunity”, Yehezkali concluded.
